Practically, findings from this study can inform the formal practice of health care providers and youth workers and the more informal supporters in young men’s lives such as parents, coaches, friends and teachers. An understanding of the barriers that men might to outward expressions of sadness and loss can inspire more attention to otherways that they are communicating that they are in distress. Clinical services can be adapted to affirm a wider array of grief practices including ones influenced by dominant ideals of masculinity